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July 11th, 2003

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And so I’m back… Fresh from a three-day fish-athon at the Cape and then an extended 4th of July week in Italy with the fiancée and the future in-laws. A big thanks to Ralph for covering for me while I was playing proverbial hooky.

Those who have been fortunate enough to travel to the Tuscany region of Italy know how absolutely beautiful it is… In wine country, with its sprawling mountainous green and beige rolling landscapes, the people are laid back, easygoing and there is s huge emphasis on the simple act of eating and drinking. Everything stops at 1:30PM for an unofficial naptime, and believe me, after those lunches you need it. Man, I wish we had that kind of thing here. But at the risk of sounding uncultured, or what Danielle might call “boneheadness” I have to admit I get a little antsy in these places… No, I get downright stir-crazy being out of touch with saltwater for an extended time period. I guess you can say that I’ve developed a pretty hardcore dependency on the briny medium. Even during the cold months of January through March, I can often be found at the “home break” in Long Beach, just a few blocks from my house amongst the barreling winter storm swells on a retro 10-foot longboard armored with a 4/5-millimeter wetsuit, hood and booties. While gliding in that sweet spot on a wave, whitewater exploding behind me, both sets of toes hanging over the nose, arms behind me and back arched, I’m just as at home and genuinely elated as I am amongst large tailing stripers on a clear windless day. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the ocean has become a vital part of my life. With out it, I certainly wouldn’t be the person I am. And hey… I like that person.

When I arrived home on Tuesday, that wonderful smell of a salty onshore breeze created a brief but powerful euphoria… In an instant I felt I was back home and that all is well. Without packing, and a quick knowing kiss on the check without even a mention of where I was going, Danielle sent me out the door. While just a week before I was doing the same thing, cruising across that rippled surface at 30-knotts with the wind in my hair (sorry about the cliché) to me was heaven. Several cocktail bluefish and a gorgeous sunset later, the jet lag had disappeared and I felt totally and completely at home again. I consider myself a very lucky human being to have this wonderful resource within my grasp. I thank God every day for it, and I curse those who defile it and see it as nothing more than a medium to take from and to never give back.

It’s good to be home…

Now on to the reports:

In Southern New Jersey, despite the sweltering heat, the shallow water fishing has been very good although mostly a night occurrence. In central New Jersey the proliferation of bunker remains just off the beach. There are still plenty of bass on them, but they’ve been tough to get on the fly. The big blues, however, have been snatching flies right and left. While bass have been making infrequent appearances under the large amounts of rain-bait in Northern New Jersey, for the most part it’s blues, blues and more blues. Same story in the New York Metro area, although in the early and late low light hours anglers have been scoring with bass on the structure and rips. Jamaica Bay has been inundated with a vicious red tide that is making any sort of fishing with artificials difficult. Western Long Island has been producing on both North and South shores with a good mix of bass and blues. Best bass fishing has reportedly been at night. The east end, while slowing some, has still been fishing remarkably well, with plenty of sight fishing opportunities as well as chances at the deeper water hogs.

Weather looks good this weekend, so get out there and fish…

And don’t forget to email me your own reports. Tight lines all.

Tight Lines!

John McMurray

New Jersey

In Southern New Jersey, Captain Bryan DiLeo reports good action. Check it out:

Capt. Bryan DiLeo/Iowafortune
Ocean City/Atlantic City Report

What a week it was this week. This being the week of the 4th of July and zoo
like conditions during the day time on the water one would expect the fishing
to be slow, well guess again. Night time was the right time this week giving
up the biggest fish and the best action of the season. The Bass were on the
move and tracking very well allowing us to stay in front of large schools of bass
for unlimited amounts of time. Bass could be seen Tailing, rolling, slapping
and waking in the skinniest of waters and very willing to take both flies as
well as light tackle artificials. Most of the Bass through out this week were
taken on top water both Fly and spin as well as some on smaller bucktails.
Despite the quantity of fish in any particular school and as it has been all
season long your cast had to be in the right spot in order for the fish to move on
it and a cast just out side of the zone would not get a second look. We had a
few smaller bass earlier in the week in the 16"-20" range but the overwhelming
majority was nothing less than 8 lbs (28"-34") and several fish this week
ranged in size from 36" to 42" taken on top water both on the fly as well as
light tackle 6lb test gear. As always all fish this week were released and swam
away in great shape.
Capt. Bryan DiLeo
609-926-5415

A bit of different story to the North. Loads and loads of bunker are still hanging out right off the central NJ beaches and there are still some very large bass on them. While they’ve proved tough to get on a fly, the big blues that arrived this week to feed are aggressive and abundant. Check out Captain Jim Feda from Shore Catch Guide Services’ report:

Hi John,
just happened today (7/9), big blues 10-12 pounds have started to crash the
bunker schools that are tight to the beach. Capt Jim had out clients
Paul Bergh and his wife Catherine and they had their rods doubled over
for most of the morning. An eight in piece of wire tippet was necessary
on the big bunker flies that the blues were hammering. Here's Shore
Catch client Paul Bergh with a 12 pounder.

In Northern New Jersey, there are plenty of blues, both big and small, on rain-bait and under the birds. Strippers can be found in the fast moving rips in the early and late hours of the day.

Captain Dino Torino from Fin Chaser Charters reports plenty of bluefish in the Lower Harbor in the 4 to 6-pound range with some schools of bigger fish moving around.  Just about any fly seems to be working and the schools are both dense and aggressive.  The bait appears to be something very small according to Dino.  

Captain Joe Mattioli from On The Bight Charters reports more of the same…  Check it out:

Hi John
 
Bluefish continue to dominate with fish up to 12lbs, these slammers are awesome to catch on a fly and will take you into the backing very quickly.
Bass fishing is an early morning or late afternoon bite, fishing structure and rips. Weakfish are miked in with the blues. Bunker flies and Half/half clousers are the ticket.
 
Capt. Joe Mattioli
On The Bite Charters

Smaller blues can be had in Jamaica Bay with the stray weakfish underneath.  Night fishing for weakfish has reportedly been good.  The better the moon light the better the fishing. 

Western Long Island

From the North Shore Reel-Timer Angelo Peluso reports good action with bass in the early morning and gator blues during the day.  Check it out:

Hi John,
Welcome back!  The bass out this way continue to be early morning opportunities.  It has been a bit of a hit or miss situation for the fly guys...one day feast, the next famine.  Five to seven inch Deceiver/Flatwing hybrid patterns have been doing the job for me...in combinations of white, yellow, chartreuse and olive.  Yesterday morning brought a pleasant surprise as I tied into some bruiser bluefish on the fly...from about 12 to 15 pounds.  One fought so fiercely and long that I drew the attention of a few local lobstermen who thought as I did that I had hooked a monster striper...but alas, it turned out to be a bluefish.  Hey, I'm not complaining. At least I got to check out a lot of my backing! I did find it somewhat interesting that all of the bigger blues were hooked in the corners of their mouths with not one biting through my fluorocarbon leaders, while a pile of small cocktails blues wreaked havoc with my fly box.  Things are beginning to take shape with loads of bait off the points and beaches and on the shoals.  The smaller blues and bass seem to be keyed in on very small rainbait...most likely small spearing. The fluke are also still strong on artificial and flies. Tight lines...Regards...Angelo

Great report Angelo…

No official reports from the South Shore, but word is that bluefish have been frequenting the South Shore Beaches and while the bass fishing has slowed considerably in the Great South Bay, there are still fish to be found in the flats although very hard to trick. 

Eastern Long Island

Captain Alex Powers reporting for To the Point Charters reports good sight fishing in East Hampton:

The combination of great weather and strong tides led to some amazing sight fishing on the flats. My girlfriend, Bridie Clark, got her first Striper on the fly, a nice 31" fish. A buddy of mine from Montana, Dave Keller, who is also shown with his first Striper on the fly.

The most effective patterns on the flats recently have been pretty sparse flies - small clousers in natural colors with minimal flash have done well. The critical element - now more than ever with the water temperatures up - is the location of the fly in relation to the fish. Almost all of the takes happen when the fly has had time to sink below the fish and is then stripped up in front of it just as it reaches the fly. If one can muster the patience to wait for this to happen, not too much of a strip is necessary - usually a twitch or two will do the trick. Conversely, most casts that are too close to the fish either cause it to spook or do not sink deep enough to cause a take.

This may be what some might call a 'firm grasp of the obvious', but I hope it may help others....

Best,

Capt. Alex Powers
917.699.0604

Captain Josh Gruss from Striper Flats Flyfishing Charters reports a bit of a slowdown in East Hampton but, but still plenty of opportunities to score:

John,

Recently flats fishing has been hampered by the heat and the summer’s proliferation of jet skis and boats. The heat has made any flats that aren’t exposed to a fresh influx of cold ocean water unfishable. The water in the bays are too warm and murky at this point. Only open ocean flats will have cool water on the incoming tide. I fished this tide wherever it was happening last week with limited success. The fish would appear with the tide but would disappear with the boat traffic that appeared later in the day. However, managed to get about twenty shots within a twenty-minute period and a few nice fish. Fished with Ken Hawkins last week. A nice guy and an excellent caster. Flats fishing in Long Island will have to be put aside until September at this point. I’ll be using my Seacraft for the rest of the summer in Montauk and the rips.

Captain Brendan McCarthy from Urban Flyguides also reports good fishing on the cooler flats… Check it out:

Have had solid fishing this week when the sun is out which has been allot thank god. Lots of fish on the flats and even some that are eating good still!!! The colder flats on incoming tides have worked best. Had some banner days this week and some good visibility and days that should have been banner yet the fish chose to get bratty and not eat so well. So I guess what I am saying is if you want to catch Bass sight-fishing, practice, practice, practice your casting because there are very few dummies left on the flats, but that's what makes it all that much fun, right? Hope all is well
Regards
Capt. Brendan McCarthy
Urban Fly-Guides
917-847-9576

BTW have some weekdays open in the next few weeks

Captain Jim Hull fishing the South Side is still putting his guys on those hogs. Check it out:

Hi John, Still getting some real good days out here. Took out Neal this morning for 12 fish between 10 and 20 lbs. Had Jeff, Alex and Dr. Bruce out earlier with bass to 18lbs. Eric and Hugo had a dozen into the mid thirties. Ken, Henry and Ryan tuffed out the heave for a dozen to 20lbs. Sara took and released her first bass of 33". Ron had 7 bass to 37". Fish are real smart, we have to change the fly or lure after 3 casts. Pump up and reel down. Jim (captainjimhull@aol.com) 631-749-1906

Nice!!!

Farther west in the Shinnecock area, Captain Don Kaye from Shinnecock Guiding checks in with this report:

Prior to this weekend's stiff breezes, the sight fishing opportunities have been numerous! The Bass are, mostly, taking Sandeels at the surface and leave a ring such as feeding Trout do in a stream. The flats around Shinnecock Bay are alive with Striped Bass & Bluefish, but they must be quietly stalked, as you would Catskill's Trout or Bonefish in the Keys. When it's windy, fish spotting gets tough but presenting lures properly in "fishy looking areas' proves quite productive. Great Summer angling! Capt. Don Kaye, Shinnecock Guiding 6317288175

Also fishing Shinnecock is Reel-Timer Mark Soley. Her reports great fishing in his newly outfitted skiff:

Alan Evelyn (CCA NY pres) and I have been very busy this past spring turning a 16' aluminum "lake boat" into a full on fishing machine. Our idea was to create a boat that one could easily trailer and to be effective for sight fishing at our favorite bay, SHINNECOCK. I was fortunate to have the last week off from work and was able to put in 5 great days in the flats. Here's a synopsis of the action.
Friday June 27: Alan boat his first fish on the skiff, a nice schoolie, caught on a black bead eye curly tail.
Saturday June 28: had the family out for a raging session of tailor blues taking anything that looked edible.
Wednesday July 2: Absolutely a premo day. Variable wind, less than 5 knots, full on sun, no clouds........weekday (need I say more!). The only thing missing was my lack of experience sightfishing. Hit the flats at 7:30 am with the start of the incoming water. Crystal clear water revealed numerous sightings. I was so amazed at seeing the fish so clearly I had to remind myself that I also should try to cast to them. did numerous drifts in 1.5 ' of water and consistently marked fish. They spook very easily. During one drift over the mussel bed marked a fish no further than 10 ' gnawing on a crab lodged in the bed. Dipped my sand eel pattern 3 ' in front and the game was on! Caught and released a beautiful 30 " bass. During the tide change my son and I snorkeled the area. I was amazed at the cold water during the incoming, followed by balmy water on the outgoing. I know that might seem too obvious but the temp difference was extreme. Had doubts about the outgoing tide but that was quickly stifled. Numerous shadows on the flats... Even bigger fish that the incoming tide.
Friday July 4: Many boats working the bay. Fished the incoming, some sighting but no hook-ups except for a bunch of fluke rising off the sand. Slack tide produce a beautiful 32" fish for Alan. What could be better that 4th of July and a great fight on an 8 wt. the fish was revived a swan off peacefully.

Saturday July 5: A little too much wind , against the tide created a very bland day of fishing. I think I was too tired to even care!
Great vacation. Great location.

Soulman

Thanks Mark.

From the Shoreline, Salty Flyrodder Joel Filner checks in with this report:

The Ferrari's are in bloom again, along with anything that can float with a
motor and no mind at the helm. The Hamptons are alive with the sounds of
traffic. But the fish are still around. My own fishing is now curtailed by
a torn rotator cuff, thus limiting my casting to no retrieve situations. At
least the right arm is okay. Friday and Saturday early mornings were very
nice with stripers and some blues all taking spearing, clousers, and
poppers until the skies light up. Mostly on the out going tide on the backside of Shinnecock and just west of the Ponquogue bridge. During the day
the boats are just impossible and the flats are full of chop from the races
to get to somewhere else. Monday morning I went out to see if anything was
working but the arm just wouldn't work. Reports from Monday and Tuesday are
all about fish and how picky they are at times and then a switch goes off
and they hit very actively. Nothing of great size averaging 24 to 28
inches, on mostly spearing and sandeel patterns. Water is now at 68 degrees
throughout the bay and at low tide in the mid afternoon over 70. Missed my
day with Amanda and still crying..

Joel

Hang in there Joel. And make sure that shoulder gets better before the fall run begins. That’s all for this week. See you on the water.